Catherine: One Love is Enough (Catherine Series Book 1) (44 page)

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Authors: Juliette Benzoni

BOOK: Catherine: One Love is Enough (Catherine Series Book 1)

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‘Absolutely, my angel.’

The page who had appeared before returned now and interrupted Philippe. He timidly explained to his master that the Council was about to meet and that Chancellor Rollin required his presence. Philippe swore between his teeth.

‘I shall have to let you go once again, adorable girl, because I know the tongues will start wagging if you don’t return to your lodgings. But this is the last time I shall let you leave me this way, I swear it on my honour. I shall send for you tonight, and I shall not let anything or anyone disturb us.’

Dropping a quick kiss on her lips, he left her regretfully, adding as he left the room that he would send some women to help her dress.

Catherine remained alone. She felt like a prisoner when the gates of the jail clang shut, the bolts shot home, the chains clanking. Already Arnaud must be galloping along the road to Guise, free! She remained behind

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliette Benzoni
was born
Andrée-Marguerite-Juliette Mangin
on 30 October 1920 in Paris, France. She spent her childhood in Saint-Germain-des-Pres until she was almost 15 years old, when her family went to live in
Saint-Mandé
. She was educated at College d’Hulet, then at the Institut Catholique, where she studied philosophy, law and literature. In 1941 she married a doctor from
Dijon
, Maurice Gallois, and was soon mother of two children, Anne and Jean-François. In her twenties, she spent many hours in libraries, studying the history of Burgundy in Medieval times. One day she came across the legend of the
Order of the Golden Fleece
, which would later inspire her to write the Catherine series.

After her husband died in 1950, she went to Morocco to visit a relative of his, and ended up staying for two years, joining the editorial staff at a radio station called Radio-International. She then met Colonel André Benzoni, who in 1953 became her second husband. After her return to
Paris,
France, she launched into journalism, writing for several newspapers. At the beginning of the 1960s, a literary editor who had seen her make a television appearance invited her to write a
historical romance
in the style of
Anne Golon
’s
Angelique
. The outcome was
Catherine
:
One Love is Enough
(original title,
Catherine, Il Suffit d’un Amour
), the hugely successful first entry in what was originally intended to be a five book series.

Next came another big success with the
Marianne
series, set during the Napoleonic period, beginning with
Marianne
:
A Star for Napoleon
(original title,
Marianne: Une Étoile Pour Napoléon
). Juliette was then asked if she would write two additional
Catherine
books, due to their sensational popularity. She agreed, and the series’ seventh and final entry,
La Dame de Montsalvy
, appeared in 1979.

In 1983, the French station Antenne 2 adapted
Marianne
:
A Star for Napoleon
for television, directed by Marion Sarraut. This led on three years later to a television adaptation of all seven books in the
Catherine
series, again directed by Sarraut; the end result pleased Juliette far more than a substandard movie version produced in 1968.

Juliette continues to write, and has now had more than 80 books published.

For more information about Juliette and the Catherine books see this official website: www.catherinedemontsalvy.ch.

Romance and Erotica Titles

from Telos

ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS

JULIETTE BENZONI

CATHERINE SERIES

1: CATHERINE: ONE LOVE IS ENOUGH

2: CATHERINE

3: BELLE CATHERINE

4: CATHERINE: HER GREAT JOURNEY

5: CATHERINE: A TIME FOR LOVE